The Dew Breaker Scar Quotes

Here’s the thing about scars, they never really go away. You can hide them, try to forget, but they will still be there. A scar tells a story and although the bleeding may stop, the pain still lingers. In Edwidge Danticat’s novel, The Dew Breaker, characters try to deal with both physical and emotional scars in order to achieve the “American Dream.” Painful as it might be, to shape the future, you must make peace with your past. Danticat explores this in the chapter, Monkey Tails, where Michel recalls the day he lost both his innocence and childhood friend during the exile of the Haitian dictator. Eighteen years ago, Michel faced the reality that his mother lied to him about his father and that his best friend decided to leave Haiti because of immense pain he felt towards his own ruthless father. He tells his story to his unborn son in order to disclose his struggles and explain his son’s possible namesake. “If you’re born today, on this, the anniversary of the day that everything changed for me, on the day that I became a man, your name will be Romain.”(164) Despite the unhappy memories, Michel uses his emotional scar as a way to honor his “first true friend.”(164)
While the bridal seamstress has …show more content…
He was able to fight against his past in order to support and care for his family. Because of the scar, he can never forget his cruelty, however, what he can do is act and be a different man then who he once was. He could spend all day burdening himself about his mistakes, yes, he still has nightmares, but the Dew Breaker also has a house, a wife, a college educated daughter, and his own business. Something that “America Dream” entails is that if you work hard enough, you can accomplish goals no matter your past. He may not be the ideal example, but the Dew Breaker is proof that the “American Dream” can be